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Sangheili
"On the blood of our fathers, on the blood of our sons, we swore to uphold the Covenant!" -The Covenant Writ of Union The Sangheili (Latin Macto cognatus, meaning "I glorify my kin" and nicknamed by humans "Elites") are a saurian species of fierce, proud strong, agile and intelligent warriors and skilled combat tacticians. Sangheili are named after their homeplanet, Sangheilos. Known to humans as Elites, due to their adeptness and skill in combat, the Sangheili formed the military backbone of the Covenant, for almost the entirety of its existence. They had a very strong rivalry with the Jiralhanae, which finally became open hatred during the Great Schism, and the conclusion of the Human-Covenant War. Originally a found member of the unified conglomerate of races known as the Covenant, they later led the Covenant breakaway faction called the Covenant Separatists, who sided with the Humans against their former allies, due to the fact that the High Prophet of Truth and High Prophet of Mercy had ordered the genocide of the entire Sangheili race. This was established after the assassination of the High Prophet of Regret at the hands of the "Demon." It was the Sangheili who were ultimately responsible for the Prophet of Regret's death, and were seen as "unfit" to continue to guard the Prophets. The Prophets sought to achieve this through the use of the other Covenant races, mostly the Jiralhanae. The aftermath of the Great Schism formed the bedrock of the Covenant's ulitmate collapse. History Development of Civilization and the Covenant Their homeworld Sangheilos, had at one point been visited by or had been in contact with the Forerunners. They revered the objects these "gods" had left, and considered tampering with them a heresy beyond any other. In 938 BCE they encountered the San'Shyuum , a race that also worshipped the Forerunners as gods, but had utilized Forerunner technology for their own needs, believing that the technology had been left behind as gifts for their "children." This sparked the Sangheili-San'Shyuum War due to the Sangheili branding the San'Shyuum as heretics. Even though the Sangheili were basically a race of warriors and soldiers, they suffered more losses due to the San'Shyuum having possession of a Forerunner Keyship/Dreadnought. By 876 BCE even the most loyal Sangheili were forced to admit that their race's survival depended on the usage of Forerunner technology and it could win them the war. Instead, the two sides came to an agreement which became a written document called the Writ of Union, which then lead to the creation of the Covenant. The San'Shyuum were able to assuage the Sangheili by informing them of the Great Journey: By seeking out the Holy Rings/Halos scattered throughout the galaxy and utilizing them, a Great Journey would begin. This Great Journey would transform believers into godlike beings, while providing salvation for their doomed existence of fighting with the Flood. The Sangheili then became the bodyguards of the physically less imposing San'Shyuum, who would search the galaxy for Halos. The Writ of Union was drawn up in 852 BCE in order to codify the Covenant. Its first canto clearly outlines the nature of the Covenant from the perspective of the San'Shyuum. Being one of the few races in the Covenant to achieve space-faring status without outside intervention, the Sangheili interaction with the San'Shyuum was intially strained due to the memories of the recent war. However, the two sides later formed a prosperous relationship, eventually laying the foundation for the modern Covenant hegemony. During their membership with the Covenant, the Sangheili were technological and societal equals of the San'Shyuum. However, for a significant period, they found themselves as the dominant military muscle for the entire Covenant Empire, hardly surprising given their warlike, feudal nature of their homeworld, Sangheilos. What was surprising was the cyclical stability this feudal society was able to offer. Technological and medical advancement prospered, and the intelligent, aggressive Sangheili were peerless until they encountered the San'Shyuum. With exchange of goods and ideas, the Sangheili adapted to and eventually embraced the Covenant religion, grafting its tenets into their own belief system. Human-Covenant War When the San'Shyuum declared war on a previously unknown species called "humans", the Sangheili followed their lead without question. After a period of time, however, even though the San'Shyuum insisted that Humans were "unclean beings" that must be eliminated from the galaxy, some seasoned Sangheili veterans began to question the refusal of the San'Shyuum to even consider accepting the humans into the Covenant. These Sangheili seemed to believe that Humans, although physically weak, at least compared to themselves, were brave and even honorable. Some even believed that Humans were equal to them - a considerable step for a Sangheili, or any member of the Covenant to make. These few Sangheili admired how willing and brave the Humans were when fighting to survive against outright extinction, they even respected to a certain degree those few soldiers who were willing to stay behind and cover their comrades from a Covenant attack. A few Sangheili even had some degree of disrespect for the San'Shyuum before the Great Schism The Great Schism During the final months of the Human-Covenant War, the political shift caused by both the High Prophet of Truth and Chieftain Tartarus started a slippery slope that ended in the dissolution of the Covenant between the Sangheili and the San'Shyuum. Originally, the Jiralhanae were viewed savagely aggressive and extremely goal-oriented, which the Sangheili viewed as a serious threat should the Jiralhanae ever begin to desire political power. This fear became reality when the Honor Guards of the San'Shyuum, originally a Sangheili exclusive appointment, was turned into a Jiralhanae exclusive appointment. This was directly caused by the death of the High Prophet of Regret at the hands of John-117, the Human "Demon" known as the Master Chief, despite Regret's protection from his personal guard of Sangheili Honor Guardsmen. Soon the Jiralhanae found themselves in new positions of power, such as Field Masters, Shipmasters and the complete replacements for the Sangheili as the absolute military power in the Covenant. At the same time, during the Battle of Installation 05, Arbiter Thel'Vadam and Rtas'Vadum (both of who dropped their "ee" suffix from the end of their name) discovered the truth of the Halo rings from the monitor 343 Guilty Spark and the deceit of the San'Shyuum. These events led to the entire Sangheili species to secede from the Covenant, forming the Covenant Separatists . They were aided by a few of the member races within the Covenant, such as the Unggoy and Mgalekgolo, even though many apparently ended up siding with the Covenant Loyalists despite the Sangheili's efforts. The secession included a movement to destroy the treacherous Jiralhanae and San'Shyuum, and the destruction of the Flood at all costs, eventually resulting in the Sangheili's alliance with humanity, persuaded by Arbiter's counsel. It is known that this civil war stretched from the Human homeworld, Earth, all the way back to Sangheilos as the Sangheili attempted to wrest their share of the hegemony away from their new-found enemies. The Jiralhanae stepped in to fill the military void in ever increasing numbers, sensing the vacuum and oppurtunity left by the departure of the Sangheili. Fall of the Covenant Empire Finally, after the Second Battle of Earth, the Sangheili and Humanity managed to stop and kill the Prophet of Truth, effectively dissolving the Covenant. However, the Sangheili and Humanity were coerced to deal with a more massive threat: The Flood. Finally, the Arbiter and Chief, after activating the newly constructed Installation 04B effectively ended the Flood threat forever. After the Human-Covenant War ended, there has been speculation of competition between the UNSC and the Sangheili, when it came to examining Forerunner ruins and relics like the Artifact. However, by March 2553, the Sangheili and Humanity remain friendly to one another as evidenced by the conversation between Thel'Vadam and Lord Terrence Hood. All the Sangheili who fought in the Battle of Installation 00 agreed to depart Earth and return to Sangheilos, to guarantee it's safety. As the Great Schism went on, the Sangheili continued their fight against the Jiralhanae. This was proving largely unsuccessful and the Sangheili were accepting serious losses. Without the Covenant to provide them with ships, technology, and repairs, they slowly lost warships and technologies they couldn't repair or replace. After the San'Shyuum went into hiding, the Sangheili began to prevail against the Jiralhanae, who in turn began to fight amongst themselves. Despite the hatred for the Jiralhanae, the Sangheili employed Jiralhanae who stayed at the Sangheili's side. Having abandoned the Covenant, the Sangheili were now in a state of mass confusion in regards to their religion, because even though the San'Shyuum lied to them, they had still given them purpose for their actions. The Sangheili were still religiously devoted to the Forerunners and were attempting to uncover the meaning behind their existence. The Dark Era In 2554, the Covenant Remnants was formed and many rogue Sangheili joined it, eventually leading to the whole race which provided the Sangheili with the required technology to make them powerful again. Eventually, after cultivating enough technology to continue on their own, they left the Covenant Remnants and formed the Holy Federation of Sangheilos. Arbiter wanted to use their new Federation as a peacekeeper faction to form a "different" Covenant with Humanity, but instead a lone Sangheili simply named "The Shipmaster" formed a large splinter cell and declared war on Humanity. He believed that the truth about Halo was a lie, and wanted to finish what the Covenant started. He however failed in his plan which ended with his death. The Holy Federation then stepped in and intervened, officially killing off the Shipmaster's loyalists and ending the war in 2557. Peace resumed until 2568, when another splinter cell was able to succesfully convince his government that Humanity was planning an invasion of Sangheilos. With their full authorization, a Sangheili named Fleetmaster Krodom lead a reasonably medium sized Fleet to invade the recently repopulated world of Reach while doing it discreetly. This didn't last long, with a general distress call reaching Earth and the Frigate, UNSC Homeward Bound being sent to respond. This started the Reach War, which lasted for many months where the First Sangheili Civil War also sparked, with Krodom's forces, called the Loyalist Alliance and Field Marshall Uzhe'Nostrom's forces, the Separatist Confederacy battling it out. Nostrom allied himself with the crew of the Homeward Bound and together backfired Krodom's miniture Halo weapon called the Disruptor, effectively wiping out the Loyalist Alliance. However, Nostrom lost his life during a dual with Krodom. Krodom was killed in the blast and by the time UNSC and Sangheili (they had only just realized that Krodom's warnings of invasion were false) reinforcements arrived, the war was over. A memorial was set up as a symbol to those who died in the war. Peace was continuous until 2592, where a misunderstanding led to all out war between Humanity and Sangheili, sparking the First Human-Sangheili War. This was over by 2595, with the signing of the Earth Accords. However one Sangheili by the name of Chava'Salsamee, who at the time was leader of the Separatist Union had attempted and successfully corrupted the Holy Federation of Sangheilos, forming in it's place the First Grand and Holy Sangheili Empire. He had only one goal in mind: To completely eradicate the human race. Their religion also changed to the worship of the Primals, a race of sentient gods that almost wiped out the Precursors, if not for being trapped in the Supreme Sphere. He plans to release the already recovered Primal found and to awaken one found on Earth. Forming a fleet comparable to the size of the entire fleet that destroyed Reach, he headed straight for Earth and evaded the UNSC Home Fleet, landing his flagship, the Begotten Angel on Earth and establishing a base. This marked the end of the Second Insurrection, due to the fact that Chava's forces basically wiped out the United Rebel Alliances and started the Second Human-Sangheili War. This war went well for the Sangheili until Chava decided to use Gamma Halo to wipe out all life on Earth. This failed with him losing not only another halo, but two supercarriers and a flotilla of seven CCS-Class Battlecruisers. Even worse, a mass rebellion back at Sangheilos causes the whole First Grand and Holy Sangheili Empire to fall apart, being restored to it's former non-imperial state. The Imperialist Enforcers decide that they should help restore their old religion and so forth are unable to send reinforcements to the UNSC. However this rebellion sparked a massive interplanetary battle to commence in Chava's fleet with three-quarters being separatists and the other quarter being Chava loyalists. Outnumbered, Chava's fleet abandons Earth, quickly routing but regrouping near Sangheilos. The Imperialist Fleet commences bombardment of Chava's "Super" Fortress, which eventually is breached by combined UNSC and Imperialist Ground forces, and eventually destroyed, with Falka, Chava's second in command dead, and Chava presumed dead. The war continues until eventually Chava is killed and the remainder of the Separatist Union is wiped out and disbanded. However the Imperialists now had to deal with a more immediate threat which surprisingly was the UNSC itself. Now corrupted by Commander Joshua Reynolds, who had been feeding Chava information, the UNSC had lead a campaign to wipe out the Sangheili and United Socialist Rebellions and release the Primals from the Supreme Sphere. This sparked the First Apocalyptic War, described as the final war of the Dark Era and by far the most deadly. The Primals ended up extinct, Reynolds killed and the UNSC disbanded. Galactic Peace Unsure of what to do, the USR took over the UNSC's postion and with help from ONI formed the United Galactic Alliance, which the Sangheili were invited to join. They accepted, and Humanity and the Sangheili formed the military backbone of the UGA. The Sangheili fought to finally destroy the Covenant Remnants in the Second Apocalyptic War and will continue to serve as the UGA's military for thousands of years. Description Sangheili are generally between 2.2 meters tall and 2.6 meters tall including helmet and armor, have two fingers and two thumbs on each hand which are much larger than human fingers and thumbs, which make the Sangheili look ungainly when wielding small human weapons such as the pistol. They look vaguely like lizards or theropods, except for their jaws. When wearing armor, they take on a shark-like look because of the "fins" on the sides of their helmets. Their jaws are made up of four seperate mandibles attached to their face, similiar to those found on the lower jaws of snakes from Earth. The Sangheili are attributed for great strength and intelligence, and are praised for thier bravery and honor. Sangheili warriors augment these natural abilities further through the use of Energy Shields integrated into their armor Depending upon rank and mission objective, they are commonly seen in battle with Plasma Rifles, Needlers, Covenant Carbines, Needle Rifles and sometimes, if they are higher ranked, Energy Swords. Sangheili employ coffin-like Orbital Insertion Pods as well as Phantom and Spirit Dropships for military transit purposes and rapid-response operations. Historically, Sangheili have followed the Covenant mentality of maintaining hatred towards Humanity, believing them to be an affront to their religion and a challenge towards the Great Journey. However there are signs that this stance is being slowly abandoned as seen in the tentative alliance between the two enemies, forming the core allied faction at the end of Halo 2 and Halo 3, and eventually the United Galactic Alliance. In Halo: Combat Evolved, upper ranks have a Forerunner symbol adorning their back. It is not known if the symbol varies from rank to rank. In Halo 3, Sangheili have Forerunner symbols on their arms and on the sides of their torso. Anatomy and Physiology Sangheili are muscular and stand around between 2.2 meters tall and 2.6 meters tall. Their jaws are quadruple-hinged, with an upper jaw and four mandible like lips. With few exceptions, these mandibles are generally shown with six teeth each; many sources also depict an additional large fang on the tips of each mandible. Anywhere from eight to ten broader teeth have been observed mounted on the central jaw structure. In Halo Wars and Halo: Reach, the Sangheili are depicted with more numerous, more feral-looking teeth. In the Halo: Legends short The Duel the Sangheili female Han, Fal'Chavamee and Roe, keep their mandibles closed, using only the front two joints of their lower mandibles to speak, giving them a more humanoid appearence. While it may not actually be canon to the Halo universe, it is possible that the Sangheili (save Ripa'Moramee) don't usually use all four mandibles, except when breathing heavily; an example would be during combat situations, though this has yet to be confirmed. Sangheili smell with the use of two nostrils, each a little in front of and below the eye socket. Given their predatory nature, a Sangheili's sense of smell is likely very developed. However it must be noted that as a distinct race they may have omnivourus tendencies. The mandibles appear to be made for gripping small prey, which insinuates that the Sangheili evolved from a quadroped race and that they are much larger than their natural prey. Their hands are tetradactyl, having four digits; two middle fingers, and two opposing thumbs on the outside for grasping. Their legs are digitigrade, with short upper and lower legs, and elongated tarsals, using the distal and intermediate phalanges to support their weight when walking. This arrangement possibly allows them to run very quickly and jump large distances, compared to ordinary humans and other Covenant races. Their superior agility may also be attributed to their homeworld's higher gravity; the additional strength required to move normally in a high gravity environment would likely cause them to be more powerful in lower gravity situations. They also appear to have a double set of pectoral muscles, which contribute to their incredible strength. Sangheili have at least two hearts, which circulate indigo-colored blood through their veins; the coloration is most likely caused by bimetallic hemoglobin, possibly cobalt-iron, wheras the crimson-blooded Humans possess monometallic iron-based hemoglobin. Though there are many theories on the subject, the chemical formula(e) of Sangheili hemoglobin is still unknown. It is assumed that they breathe oxygen, as they can breathe the same atmosphere as Humans can without any trouble, and their homeworld has a nitrogen-oxygen atmosphere, similiar to Earth's. Male Sangheili have grayish-brownish skin (which in Halo 2 looks spotted and scaly) and the majority of Sangheili have either dark blue, black, or brown eyes, although there are a few exceptions. It has been theorized that the reason Sangheili seem to have dark, blue eyes is because they wear eye coverings (which provide their in-game HUD). This hypothesis comes largely from the Arbiter's appearence - when standing before the High Council in his armor, his eyes were dark, but after his armor was removed, his eyes became a much lighter brown - and is also supported by the fact that in Halo: Combat Evolved, a Sangheili's eye color is always the same color as their armor. Sangheili have laterally-postioned eyes with slit-shaped pupils, large irises, and horizontal eyelids, though these traits can only be seen in Halo 3 - Sangheili in Halo 2 have all black eyes with no pupils except for the Arbiter, and in Halo: Combat Evolved they never blink. However, this is presumably result of animation. In Halo: Contact Harvest, it is mentioned that the Sangheili are strange for bipedal species in that their knees do not bend backwards, but forwards. This unusual hinging does not impair their mobility on ground but climbing, especially on ladders, is difficult for them. Intelligence "Although Elites are naturally very intelligent, their culture's long dependence on a military-industrial schema has led to an emphasis on might over science. In some regards, the advent of the Covenant made this position easier-allowing the Elites to concentrate even more singulary on military endeavours, while Prophets took care of science and technology." '' '' - 343 Guilty Spark in the Bestiarum The Sangheili are intelligent and can demonstrate this in battle. Sangheili are normally on the move when fighting, constantly running and ducking, strafing and dodging when firing at an enemy. It should be noted that not all Sangheili make use of cover because of their superior strength, these are the Sangheili who hold the ranks of either Zealot or Councilor. The Sangheili seem to employ complex strategy only if it either improves success in battle, or it allows them to inflict more casualties on their enemies. In ship-to-ship combat, despite having the advantage of long-range weapons such as plasma torpedoes, the Sangheili prefer to maneuver in close in an attempt to board their opponent's vessel. These Sangheili charge their enemies with reckless aggression, regardless of any damage they sustain; only very seldom do they admit temporary defeat. They are quite capable of luring their enemies into traps by falling back behind cover; as the enemy approaches, a Sangheili will spring from its position and land a massive melee hit on the unsuspecting opponent, and is especially even more dangerous if the hiding Sangheili is carrying an Energy Sword due to the weapon's lethal melee power. The Sangheili are competent tacticians, known for their ferocity and decisive thinking. This is shown to be true in space ship-to-ship combat, even when horribly outnumbered; they can win a fight with only a few losses. An example of this is the Battle of Installation 00, when Truth's fleet outnumbered the Sangheili three-to-one, yet the Sangheili prevailed with at least the Assault Carrier, Shadow of Intent. However it should be noted that the Sangheili received and possessed ship technologies from the Prophet's study of Forerunner technology, perhaps a century or several centuries more advanced than that of Humanity. Examples include advanced reactor technologies with power outputs several orders of magnitude greater than Human reactor technologies, powerful shields capable of withstanding up to 3 MAC impacts, highly effective point defense laser turrets capable of fending off sizable barrages of Archer missiles and nuclear ordanance, and super-accurate Plasma torpedoes and Energy Projectors. Due to the lack of shielding on Human vessels, these plasma weapons were capable of outright destroying or disabling most Human vessels in one hit. The performance of their sub-light engines also far outstripped the manuvering capabilities of Human vessels. Due to their vast technology gap, the tactical and strategic intellect of the Sangheili with respect to Humans cannot be ascertained. There were incidences, however, of smaller human fleets obliderating much larger Sangheili fleets such as Admiral Patterson's victory over Voro Nar 'Mantakree's fleet over Onyx. This, combined with Admiral Preston J. Cole's repeated victories over Sangheili fleets throughout his career with numbers to offset the Covenant's massive technological advantage, as well as the fashion in which the Sangheili lost over two thirds of their entire invasion fleet over Reach to nothing more than ablative tactics, gives reason to cast doubt on the Sangheili's actual mastery of naval warfare and calls into question issues of reliance on advanced technology.